UNAMID urges child labour ban

The joint mission of the United Nations and the African Union in Darfur (UNAMID) revealed that it will prohibit the recruitment of children in Darfur, which was found to be a commin issue in the country. Discussions took place between United Nations and the African Union (UNAMID) and the armed Darfurian Justice and Equality Movement in Darfur in Stadtschlaining, Austria. The Darfurian Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which is considered one of the largest armed movements in Darfur, confirmed that it is committed to comply with the ban of child recruitment and usage as soldiers. Darfurian Justice and Equality Movement released an official order this week in regards to this declaring its approval to establish a mechanism to find and identify children who are connected to its troops for demobilisation and reintegration. This includes instructions to all members of the movement "to fully comply with all international and local laws that are related to the protection of children in armed conflicts" and all commanders call for publishing and distributing this in an extensive and massive way. The recruitment and use of children is considered a serious crime according to international law and the law of the Sudan regarding children for 2010. UNAMID said in a statement: "The recruitment of children undermines the peace process and damages the children who are the future of Darfur." The Joint Special Representative of the mission, Aichatou Mindaoudou, praised the commitment of the Justice and Equality Movement to protect children, calling on all movements and armed forces to follow its example. In July, the Liberation and Justice Movement issued a similar order to the one that was issued by JEM. It is one of the movements that signed on the Doha agreement for peace with the Sudanese government.